National Hockey League announces 2012-2013 regular season schedule – NHL Update
If everything goes well in the negotiations on a new or renewed collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the National Hockey League (NHL) has announced the 2012-2013 regular season to kick off on the 11th of October later on this year.
September 15th is the expiry date for the current CBA and negotiations are in the process of starting with stakeholders, the league and NHL Players Association, wanting to renew or redefine it as quick as possible.
For obvious reasons, there is no ruling out the possibility of their being another lockout if both sides cannot agree on mutual terms and conditions on how to run the league smoothly in all terms of business.
The last lockout was back during what should have been the 2005-2006 regular season but due to reasons of the stakeholders not being able to work out the formalities, fans were shutout experience any hockey magic that year.
NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, had termed the talks for a new CBA to kick off in a couple of weeks, which was back in May. At the moment, there are no new reports on when the talks could possibly start according to NHL spokesman Frank Brown.
"No update to offer," Brown wrote in an email.
NHLPA executive director, Donald Fehr, is also excited to get the talks started but could not confirm either when that would be happening.
"I have some ideas about how it's going to go, but I have learned that making predictions in this business is a bit of a foolish enterprise," Fehr said in May. "Too many things can happen that can cause you to change course."
"I am hopeful this all sorts out easily because labour peace is preferable to the alternative," Bettman said during a news conference prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings.
What one of the most anticipated events when a season starts, is the Stanley Cup winners raising the championship banner at home prior to their first game. The Los Angeles Kings will be raising their first Stanley Cup championship banner on October 12 against the New York Rangers at the STAPLES Center.
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